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I needed to vote “the myterious stranger flirting with me” because I always argue this with my friends: German is REALLY SEXY and they don’t agree. Even my Spanish friends here in Germany (greetings from Bremen!) don’t think so. I don’t get it. The sexiness (does this word exist? lol) of German was the reason of my approachment. Now I am staying to go to the Uni, BUT…
Sexy? Hmmmmmm…. I have never heard that before. Could you describe why, or is it just a feeling?
Also… what about the BUT :)
Xinsolem! Yes, Deutsch IS Sexy! Finally, someone else also noticed!
German, in my ears, really is very sexy. The sexiest accents in English are Germans or Danes speaking English. Honestly, any German could stand on a street corner and just read out of the phone book and I’d melt.
I’m far too old to be engaging in the “intimate indoor sports” of my raging-hormonal youth, but any German can sit next to my bed and read me stories all night long! WhooHOO!
As far as WHAT German is: it is a Rube Goldberg machine, setting off all sorts of activity every time the ball hits another object in the machine .
German is the sound of a finely tuned V-8 engine.
German is the sound the door on a new Mercedes makes when it closes and you can “feel” the air-lock.
Swoon…
“German is the sound the door on a new Mercedes makes when it closes and you can “feel” the air-lock.”
Hahahahha… wow, that’s a great image :)!!! Did you know that they spend a LOT of energy making the door-shutting noise the way it is? Like… there are highly paid sound designers basically designing mechanical components that are only there to add to the sound.
Ich habe ihn gefunden! Es ist Dr Hirschhausen, der redet über Pinguine. Deutsch ist ein Pinguin.
https://hooktube.com/watch?v=Az7lJfNiSAs
Dear Emanuel,
You are my favorite German teacher among those that I am following.
I really appreciate your lessons and the great sense of humor.
I would like to share with you one of my favorite joke about German language:
An 80-year-old man goes to a Latin language teacher and asks him for private lessons.
-Yes of course. There is no problem for me, but is not it too late for you? At your age maybe is better to read the Bible and think about the afterlife.
-That’s why I want to learn Latin. Imagine that I stand in front of Saint Peter and he tells me
something in Latin, and I cannot answer. What a shame?
– Yes. I understand. But this in a case you go to heaven. What if you go to hell?
– Do not worry. I have already learned German.
Two quick clarification:
Why are you learning German? -: > I chose “for fun” because we speak english in the company, but I still feel that learning the language of the country is the right thing to do (BTW, I live and work in Austria)
If you could change one aspect of German, which would it be? -> I chose the cases, but I can’t really imagine a case system without endings. The answer I would have chosen would be the trennbare Verben. I wonder which kind of problem the old Germans had to solve to come up with such solution and what the other solutions were if the trennbare Verben won the competition. I would really like a dictionary that tells me that a verb means and what all its variants with prefixes mean (trennbare or not). I have bought Farrell’s Dictionary of German Synonyms but, while helpful, it is not enough
There might be an app for that in the works ;)
Well well, that would be wonderful. Meanwhile, do you know about any such dictionary? I don’t mind paying for it
I didn’t want to change anything about German
That’s true love :)
What about “German is my first language, but English has clubbed it and taken over”?
Hahahahahaha…. that one is awesome :)
I would have expected to find unicorn on that list.
Same!! I tried calling it the whole day, but it was nowhere to be found. Typical unicorn. Always MIA when you really need it :)
Deutsch ist für mich ein echter Raetzel. Ich lerne gern und mag die deutsche Sprache. Zuerst lernte ich 1971-1972 die Sprache als amerikanischer Soldat in Berlin. Ich habe als Militaer-Polizist am Checkpoint Charlie gearbeitet. Ich hatte mit deutschen Polizei- und Zollbeamten zusammengearbeitet und sprach täglich mit ihnen. Meine Deutsche ist größtenteils Autodidakt.
Berlin MP dein Deutche ist sehr gute! Ich bin stolz! Ein amerikanischer Soldat hast Deutsche gelernt. I visited Check point Charlie in ’88 and had started my life-long German lessons shortly before then teaching myself through a book and cassette tapes(Audio-forum) I came to Germany to visit 3 German exchange students and also cousins from my Dad’s side of the family. More recently, my son was in the Army stationed in Germany for 4 years and married a German girl so now she gives me lessons through What’s Ap, not ideal but ‘yourdailygerman’ sure helps! Vielen Danke Emanuel! Und Herliche glückwünsche Berlin MP!
Wow, das ist irgendwie total bizarr. Jetzt ist Checkpoint Charlie ein bisschen wie Iron Courtain Disneyland, und ich kenne die Soldaten da nur auf Fotos und dann schreibt jemand wie du, der da wirklich gearbeitet hat :). Wie schön!!
Autodidakt ist super! Das bleibt am längsten!
Hallo Berlin MP,
eine Frage bitte. War es für Sie als amerikanischer Soldat möglich den Ost Sektor zu besuchen?
Haben Sie damals oft Kontakt mit den Ost Grenz Polizei oder VoPos gehabt? Wenn so, war es sicher etwas unangenehm, oder?
Ich war Aug. ’73 hinüber durch CC gegangen. Wow! Alles grau und vieles von dem Krieg noch kaputt oder verfallen.
Wirklich surrealistisch!
Es gibt einige DVDs über die Ost“Grenzler“ bei eBay zu kaufen. Sie müssen einen aufgesperrten Player für Region 2 haben.
https://www.uap-film.de/product_info.php/info/p92195_DDR-Grenztruppen-Geschichte-in-NVA-Originalfilmen.html
Hard to choose – but German is definitely my Mom. Funloving but strict. Forgiving. Instructive. Thoughtful. And a lover of RULES!
Haha… yeah, I expected more mom-votes.
by the way… are you under 18 by any chance? Where are they all? Why are they not speaking up? I know they’re there :)
Oh my! I stumbled onto this site wholly by accident. This is FUN here. Happiness and word fluff!! What does anybody think . . . I have never learned a language before, I am 67, this effort is self-study, and I am just completing A1 (Absolute Beginner). Is this site too advanced for me? Should I come back later? Or, soldier on? Thanks for your help. : ) Lyn
Hmmm… the bulk of teh material is definitely upper A2 and B1, but the stuff in the course section that is under “The essentials” is definitely meant for you. That should give you all the grammar you need to start reading easy things.
I also tried to categorize my word centered articles so there’s a category A-Level, but there might still be things in them that are a bit too advanced.
My suggestion is… read the essentials and then go by your curiosity. Even if you don’t understand everything, you’ll take away something, if you’re interested in a certain topic.
How do you study? Are you using a program?
I have been using GermanPod101 and random online and printed resources, with occasional YouTube. Too much material, I find, not enough structure, too little actual information, too many random bits, too much confusion. I have never learned a language before and really do need to rely upon the skills of a teacher to provide a path through this forest. Self-study is a bit fraught!
Bit it is a lot of fun. Three-dimensional chess with moving board squares, played under time pressure! I don’t know a single German-speaking person, perhaps won’t ever, and might well never have a conversation in German with anyone. So learning to understand and to read seem better goals than to actually speak the language. It seems fine to leave that to be acquired if the occasion ever arises. In the meantime, the scaffolding gets established, so no trouble there, really, it seems. That could be wrong.
How goes the scaffolding? Case endings are truly baffling. Pronouns are chess pieces that routinely dress in different clothes, even as the board squares move unpredictably about. The language has two layers, formal and informal, a novel concept. Verbs are mystifying. Thrown to the end of sentences where they just pile up, denying all sense of the sentence until you get to the very end, and the getting there can be surprisingly long. If the verb can’t otherwise be thrown to the end of the sentence, then the verb itself is simply broken into pieces and a bit of it tossed to the period at the end. A demented game of Verbal Horseshoe.
Small children master this.
This was great fun. Some of the options were quite imaginative and quirky. Channing Tatum?? I actually picked City Dove for the animal. I knew you were referring to pigeons but I liked the imagery of the city dove and that is why I picked. We have a bird here in North America that is related to the pigeon called a Mourning Dove. They are quite beautiful and not surprisingly have a call that is rather sad.
Hahaha… yeah Channing Tatum. Originally I was like “Okay, I’m gonna add this really hot actress that everyone knows” but then I was like why not switch it around for a change and only have a hot guy. And I couldn’t think of a universally known hot actress :D
The survey was tons of fun and thanks. Also fun to really think about how I feel about various aspects of German.
I’m from South America and I couldn’t help feeling a lil bit disappointed when I realised that there are only few people from there!! Anyways, I’ve started my German course at the beginning of this year, so there’s still A LOOOOOOOOOT to learn. It’s somehow complicated for us, spanish speakers, but I’m not giving up! :) Nice work on all your posts, Emmanuel, they’re really helpful!!
Yeah, I also expected there to be more. I keep getting mails from people from Brazil or Venezuela asking for a sponsored account and I figured there would be a whole lot more regulars or just “pop ins”
And yeah, don’t give up!!! German wants you to give up, show it who’s boss!
https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=was+ich+will+pablo++grande&&view=detail&mid=603F1B300663AE0DC923603F1B300663AE0DC923&&FORM=VRDGAR
https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=was+ich+will+pablo++grande&&view=detail&mid=A7A46902FE9F30D687F6A7A46902FE9F30D687F6&&FORM=VRDGAR
Hallo Florencia,
kennen Sie Pablo Grande schon? Ist er bei ihnen wohl bekannt?
Der kommt aus Buenos Aires.. Dieses deutsche Lied von ihm finde ich super!
I’m really surprised about the ages! I’m 18 not and I’ve been reading since I was 12 or 13, but to see that (as of now) only 1 out of 169 voters is that age group is really surprising. I would have though a big component of the audience would have been students in high school German classes, and that college German students would be almost the rest of it. To see nearly half over 45 really shows that it is never too late to start learning!
Same! Well, I knew I have many older people but I expected more “youngens”.
I actually know for a fact that there are more under-age people here because I keep getting emails from people who say they’re like 13, 14 or 15 and they’re learning German VOLUNTARILY but their parents won’t pay. Well, sometimes they can’t but often they won’t. It’s really funny… the child is super ambitious and reads what’s essentially essays online and asks for their parents’s support and they’re just like “No.”
So yeah… they ask for a free account and that’s how I know they’re there.
By the way… you have been here pretty much from the start then. Wow!!!! That is really really encouraging to hear that I could keep someone’s interest between the age 12 and 18.
I’m happy now :)
Hi! -and thank you så much for this site. Ich bin Deutsche und übe mein Englisch. Es ist immer wieder gut die Dinge gegen den Strich zu bürsten. Dein/Ihr Englisch ist wundervoll. Ihnen eine schöne Adventszeit Ruth
Oh, danke schön :). Ihnen auch. Ich freu mich immer sehr, wenn auch Muttersprachler hier Spaß haben. Die können dann direkt auch gucken, dass ich keinen Quatsch erzähle. Wenn Sie mal was finden, dann gerne kritisieren :)
German is like a faithful dog! Faithfully hangs in to lingustic structures from the olden days, when German and English were much closer. Just as you are done krauling your dog’s tummy by the fireplace, the apartment goes quiet. All is well…until you find that man’s best friend has gotten into the trash in the bathroom and made a big mess, and that big mess would be strewn all over like damit constructions and side sentances. And odd little words like “doch” and “nach” and “noch” stuck like lego pieces under the bathroom door, preventing it from closing.
The next day you take the dog out for a walk and for a few moments, until the dog goes after a squirrel, yanking your arm right out of its socket, life is good!
With renewwd motivatiin you watch an episode of “Easy German” or “Froelich Deutsch” and somehow it all seems within reach–for a moment, until a really interesting looking article pops up on web.de–and the details are impenetrable!
Lovable and maddening, like a dog!
Hahaha… yeah, I’m really surprised the dog didn’t get more votes. There are sooo any parallels.
By the way… I didn’t know FroehlichDeutsch before. Another Youtube lady with a plan. These women are so focused (German with Jenny, German with Anja, froehlichdeutsch). Thank God, I’m not on Youtube, they would crush me :D
I’m sorry but you probably knew German was going to be a uni professor when you writing the question. I see shark has overtaken “city dove”. I guess imaginations grow more vivid as the morning progresses and the coffees stack up. BTW I had to think for a moment what a city dove was exactly as the only bird I call a “dove” in cities is the collared dove. It’s other two relatives that are common in cities we call pigeons (wood pigeon and feral pigeon). I guess city dove is a lesser known alternative by which the feral pigeon (normally just called “pigeon”) is also known. Just to spice things up, the feral pigeon is basically a re-habituated rock dove.
Hahaha… I actually pulled that name out of my… German. Stadttaube.
I forgot that the word was pigeon, actually. What I mean is this grey thing that#s kind of always there and occasionally shits on your car or window sill and although you don’t really connect but you would kind of miss it if it were gone.
I am REALLY surprised by the shark!!!! That was pretty much the “I need something that really doesn’t fit” option.
And as for the person… yeah, the professor is not unexpected . For me personally, I see certain parallels between German language and the recent Elon Musk. Especially at the Joe Rogan Podcast. I can’t say why, just a feeling.
In terms of animals I went for penguin. The dutiful adherence to case and gender systems brings to mind the patience of those emperor penguins toughing out the Antarctic winter.
Have you seen the documentary “Match of the tinduins” by any chance?
I meant “march of the penguins”… Damn autocorrect
I don’t know if you’ve seen it in English, but the narration by Morgan Freeman is quite legendary. He would be good at explaining in loving detail the heroism of the German speaker juggling 48 variables with every adjective ending, while their partner is out gathering fresh Antarctic fish for their young.
Oh yeah, the narration was amazing. I didn’t know that it was him but I was like “Is the Morgan Freeman” the whole time. He should do more!
I thought match of the tinduins was actually a thing talking about German grammar and parodying March of the Penguins
Hahahaha, no someone has yet to do that :)
There is some German guy, Dr Something long and impressive, who does, like inspirational speeches. I think. I mean, they are in German, so I’m not super sure. He did them on TV. One was about a penguin. Or about penguins as a species – how we laugh because they are too short, walk funny and have wings but can’t fly, but in fact, they can eat like, one herring and swim from here to Timbuktu and yadda yadda so we shouldn’t judge people by how they look but who they are. Yeah. Question: What’s this guy’s name? Dr. Yadda, Something Impressive Something. HELP!
Hi, Emanuel!
Will you let us know the results and your thoughts on them? It would be nice to have your feedback!
I wasn’t planning to, but it’s a nice idea actually :)